East Tennessee State University
'Educational Technology Review Center ' East Tennessee State University - Wiki Project Hawaiian:Wikiwiki Fast, speedy; to hurry, hasten’ quick, fast, swift. [http://www.wikicities.com/wiki/Help:Tutorial#EditingInformation How to Edit a Wiki] The Wiki concept as described by Ward Cunningham. (Bo Leuf & Ward Cunningham, 2001) :A wiki is a freely expandable collection of interlinked Web “pages’, a hypertext system for storing and modifying information- a database, where each page is easily editable by any user with a form-capable Web browser client. Wikis present exciting opportunities for collaboration between faculty, staff, and students in the university community. 'Collaboration and Discussion Tools' The Oxford English Reference Dictionary definitions: #Discussion, n. A conversation, especially on specific subjects; a debate. #Collaborate, v. To work jointly. #Server, n. (Computing) A program which manages shared access to a centralized resource or service in network. We are editing the ETSU page now. 'Collaboration Models' Email: *Direct exchange between members of a collaborative group or class. *Relatively simple for the computer literate. *Participants are responsible for sending, archiving, and sorting copies. Shared folders/files: *Simplest form of collaboration. *Graduated access to the original files. *Members or groups of members have varying degrees of freedom to contribute and edit. *Discussions between members still occur as email exchanges. Interactive Pages: *Members of the group can collectively edit the same material. *Members can edit in real time or asynchronously. *Every user has equal access to the database (documents/unit). *Every user has sense of ownership. 'Who Uses Collaborative Discussion Servers?' Individuals *To create, organize, and store content for their own use. Special (temporary) collaboration groups *Joint projects (Grant Development, Classroom Projects, University/Community Projects) Academic groups *Class Projects/Assignments, Faculty Projects, Repository for collecting and posting information, Mediate project/Peer review. Corporate groups *Plan, execute, document, and follow-up projects “Collaborative discussion servers can be used whenever you want to centralize sharing of discussions or resources.” (Bo Leuf & Ward Cunningham, 2001) 'Positive Features of Web-Based Collaboration' *Free accessibility of the material. *Up-to-date versions. *Hyperlinking *Circular expansion of details and information. Fundamental Principles of Wikies *Anyone can change anything. *Wikis use very simple hypertext modified markup. *Content is ego-less, time-less, and never finished - Ending the life of Wiki is up to the creators. *Technical support and training to use a Wiki is minimal - at most one hour of training. There are plenty of exceptions to each of these principles. Many Wiki Clones are being developed to meet individual needs or to meet academic needs of an institution. 'University of British Columbia, Brian Lamb' 'Uses of the Wiki (CoWeb) by Georgia Tech' Definition: CoWeb (Wiki Server) - A Teacher-Created Collaborative Activity in Higher Education created at Georgia Tech created by Professor Mark Guzdial Distribution of information and collaboration of activities for academic classes – the Wiki/CoWeb becomes the storage place for all information collected. This could be in the form of: *Course website. *Basically a white board that everyone can write on. *Information repository. *Structured project environment or lack of structured project environment controlled by Instructor. Collaborative artifact creation with the entire class acting as co-designers and co-creators of one or more artifacts, where the CoWeb is either the vehicle for this creation or is a medium for supporting creation. *Faculty/Students/Staff may do collaborative writing projects. *Participants would edit and contribute to the creation of same document. *Links and information can be added, changed or linked to or from at any time or place in the document. *Cross-class projects where students are required to interact with other students across various disciplines or for example, seniors could interact with sophomores. *Cross-term communication where teachers can reuse existing CoWeb for future classes. Discussion and Review activities that engage the class (and perhaps external visitors, as well) to discuss topics and review artifacts or ideas, where the CoWeb is the medium for discussion and review. *Anchored discussion is good for review activities. Example is students studying for a final exam by posting and critiquing answers to same questions. *Discussion of homework assignments or to provide Q & A environment. *Students making the highest grades or students who revised assignments were given extra credit at Georgia Tech,if he or she would agree to post graded completed homework or projects. *Professional and peer design review can be a motivating activity that helps students view their work from a new perspective. Other Education Related Examples Notes Page MEDA 5685 Spring 2006 Category:East Tennessee State University